Sarah Gardner:President
Obama tonight gives one of the most important speeches of his life at
the Democratic convention. Both he and former President Clinton, who
spoke last night, seem pretty at ease in front of a big crowd. Clinton
spoke for more than 45 minutes, some of it ad-libbed. And it made us
wonder, what about the rest of us? How would we do in front of a crowd
that size? Today, there's a big business behind public speaking.
From Washington, Marketplace's David Gura reports.David Gura: Friends, listeners, countrymen, lend me your ears. If you want to become a better public speaker, that’ll cost you.

Aileen Pincus: Well, the kind of training I offer is expensive. And there’s no doubt about that.

Aileen Pincus is a speech trainer -- she works mostly with high-level
executives -- and her rates range from $100 to $500 an hour. For that,
you get one-on-one coaching, objective feedback, and tips. One tip
Pincus has is not to focus all your attention on your delivery. She says
everyone she coaches gets nervous. You might worry the audience is
judging you.

Pincus: You know what? They are. And
that’s the power in this. It’s that you’re going to let them judge you.
You’re going to let them see your great ideas and communicate them.

These days, communicating great ideas is important. Brian Callahan is
a public speaking consultant based in Washington. And he says the price
of what he offers is worth it.

Brian Callahan: It’s the good
presenters. It’s the good public speakers. It’s the confident
communicators who are rising up the business ladder.

Another consultant, Stephanie Silverman, says business is up since
the economic downturn. She says effective public speaking skills are a
way to get a leg up on your competition.

Stephanie Silverman: I think that what
was once considered a throw-away soft skill has been growing in
importance as people begin to realize that knowing your business is not
enough.

Silverman says it takes practice -- and work -- to communicate
comfortably. And I should know. It’s not easy to butcher one of
Shakespeare's most-famous lines on a national radio show.
In Washington, I’m David Gura for Marketplace.

About Me

Actor, Casting Director, Director, Broadcaster, Writer, Singer, Artistic
Director, Dramatur, Producer, Professor, Coach, Husband, Grandfather, Marketing
Professional and life long student Art Lynch joined the staff of John Robert
Powers in 1999. Lynch is also an adjunct professor at the Community College of
Southern Nevada, the Morning Edition Weekend Host for Nevada Public Radio and
one of 67 individuals who represent 126,000 actors as a member of the Board of
Directors of the Screen Actors Guild. He is the past president of the Nevada
Branch of the Screen Actors Guild and of the Professional Audio/Visual Communications
Association. A resident of Nevada since 1984, Lynch has an MA in Communications
from UNLV and a BA in Theater, Speech and Mass Communications from the
University of Illinois, Chicago. He is currently pursuing post-graduate studies
in theater, education and the entertainment industry. Art Lynch studied and
practiced the craft of acting in Chicago and California before settling in
Nevada. With his wife Laura, Art owned and operated a successful marketing
company with national clientele. Art was personally responsible for casting and
directing over 1,000 commercials and industrials, as well as assisting on film
and television projects in many ways. His career also includes earning awards
as a wire service, magazine and broadcast journalist. He is most proud,
however, of his daughters. Ann is a PhD in neuroscience and Beth is the proud
mother of his grandchildren, Evan and Elijah.

Short Film Festival

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